On September 10, 2025, America watched in horror as Charlie Kirk was gunned down while speaking to a crowd at Utah Valley University, a brutal attack that robbed the conservative movement of one of its most effective voices. The death was not only a personal tragedy for his family but a national moment that exposed how raw and dangerous our political culture has become. Far too many in the legacy media rushed to politicize the killing instead of offering sober reflection, and that failure to pause for truth only deepened the wound.
In the chaotic aftermath, a predictable smear campaign immediately began, with some on the left trying to rewrite Kirk’s record into something unrecognizable. Prominent figures spread an outright false claim that Kirk had urged violence against gay people, a claim that even led to high-profile public apologies when it was exposed as baseless. Conservatives deserve credit for holding the line and demanding facts, and gay conservative voices like Dave Rubin stepped forward to say what eyewitnesss and friends know: Charlie treated them with decency, respect, and openness.
When cultural elites traffic in lies about a man who is now dead, it tells you everything you need to know about their moral posture. Stephen King’s incendiary claim that Kirk “advocated stoning gays” was false and disgraceful, and he ultimately deleted the post and apologized after being publicly called out. That apology did not absolve the damage; the episode showed how quickly the left will weaponize outrage to erase context and smear a life. Conservatives must keep pressing that truth matters, especially when political partisanship tempts so many to cheer on character assassination.
Dave Rubin has been consistent in pushing back against that dishonesty, sharing behind-the-scenes messages and personal anecdotes that show Charlie’s willingness to welcome people who disagreed with him on some social issues. Rubin has recounted private messages and public interactions that reveal a man committed to debate, not dehumanization, and who made room for gay conservatives in the movement. Those firsthand defenses matter because they come from someone who knows both the conservative cause and the lived experience of being gay in modern America.
What this whole episode makes plain is that the left’s reflex is often to dehumanize and to smear rather than to confront tough ideas honestly. The broader media frenzy after Kirk’s assassination — celebrating, distorting, or weaponizing his words — has led to real consequences for ordinary people and shows why conservatives must never cede the moral high ground on truth and decency. We should mourn the loss, defend the memory of a man who broadened the conservative tent, and refuse to let cheap political cruelty become the official obituary of any public figure.
If conservatives learned anything from this tragedy, it should be to keep building a movement that values courage, civility, and honest disagreement. Charlie’s ability to talk about faith, family, and country while still inviting people into the discussion was rare and powerful, and defenders like Dave Rubin remind us that political difference does not require personal hatred. Now more than ever, hardworking Americans need leaders who will stand for truth, protect free speech, and resist the corrosive culture of smears that seeks to tear our country apart.
